Pinocchio
by Kessie-Louise
Summary: A new, and slightly modern, version of Pinocchio with a cursed theater, a dying Geppetto, a girl in blue with dormant abilities, and a little puppet ignorant of his emotions and lacking a sense of touch. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Maria was a girl who was generally sweet and caring. However, she did have her moments of defiance that would normally be expected of someone her age. She even had a partner in crime; someone she knew she could count on no matter what. He was a neighbor, and long time friend of Maria's family. Geppetto was his name, and he was an ancestor of a carpenter with the same last name.  
Maria and Geppetto had a nice relationship, it was one that at first glance you'd think they were father and daughter. For no particular occasion at all, Geppetto made Maria a wooden doll just a bit taller than her, and fashioned as a boy. It starts like a story you've heard before, and it may be, but it's different all the same. Because Maria and the doll share a very special adventure that no other had before them...

* * *

"Stupid glasses!" Maria declared, taking off her reading glasses and tossing them on the table. "Can't stay on my stupid face to save the world..."  
"Maria, stop scolding your glasses." Maria's mother, Teresa told her.  
"They don't fit my face Ma!" Maria whined. "I think the glasses maker made them too big."  
"You'll grow into them." Teresa assured.  
Maria muttered something her mother didn't catch, and banged her head of the table in frustration. Just then, the doorbell rang. Teresa answered it.  
"Hello Antonio, what is... that?" Teresa said to the person at the door.  
"A surprise for Maria. Is she home?"  
"Yes she is, in the kitchen in fact. Come in, come in, and enjoy yourself."  
The two walked into the kitchen and Maria saw who was at the door.  
"Geppetto!" she squealed. Then she noticed a package he was holding that was bigger than her. "What is that?"  
"A surprise." Geppetto told her with a smile. He put the package on the table and Maria got a closer look at it. Slowly, Maria started to unwrap the package that was nearly as large as she was. When she finished carefully disassembling to box, Maria stood back and looked in amazement at a wooden puppet that was beautifully detailed. Teresa held her heart in amazement.  
"Antonio, the puppet..." Teresa slowly said in disbelief, "He's so handsome. Did you make him yourself?"  
"I did." Geppetto triumphantly agreed. "I carved him out of an old tree that they had cut down in the park. The tree had been around of ages, some citizens would have sworn that it had some bit of magic in it."  
Maria thought about this as she peered over to the puppet to give him a closer look. As she looked the puppet in the eye, he blinked at her. Maria instantly jumped back in surprise. The puppet then sat up on his own and looked at Maria with curiosity.  
"Fairy Nilambari?" he asked, "Is that you?"  
Maria and her mother stared at the puppet with wide eyes and looked at Geppetto, who was chuckling lightly.  
"Girls, meet Pinocchio." Geppetto said with a smile, "The bit of magic that surrounded the tree went into Pinocchio, it made him alive."  
Teresa clutched her heart and tried not to faint while Maria just kept staring at the puppet, now known as Pinocchio. Pinocchio stared right back at her.  
"Fairy Nilambari, why are you ignoring me?" Pinocchio asked Maria, this time slightly angered. Maria shook her head.  
"My name isn't Nilambari." Maria told him carefully. "It's Maria. Maria Cherrywood."  
"Well, you look a lot like my Fairy Nilambari." Pinocchio said in a matter-of-fact tone, it made him sound younger than what he was designed to be. Maria tilted her head.  
"Well, I assure you, I am not a fairy, nor am I named Nilabari. I have never been named that in my life." she told him.  
"Polendina," Teresa finally said, finding her words, "Are you MAD?!"  
Geppetto laughed at Teresa and took her aside.  
"After I completed Pinocchio, he requested to see a fairy in blue. I didn't know what he meant, but he also expressed a wish to be a real child." Geppetto carefully explained to the petrified lady. "As Pinocchio went on, I found that he might have his answer in Maria. Teresa darling, Maria may be able to fulfill Pinocchio's wish."  
"How?" Teresa asked. "My daughter isn't a fairy in blue!"  
"Maybe not," Geppetto agreed, as the two looked over at Maria and Pinocchio, who were now talking with each other, "But she has... something in her that makes her different. Bear with me on this Teresa darling, just this once."  
Teresa let out an uncertain sigh, but agreed nonetheless.


	2. Chapter 2

Maria had on her reading glasses as she read a list of things that human boys do. She and Pinocchio had been talking, and for him to be a human, he had to do things that human boys did. Top of the list;  
"School?" Pinocchio groaned. "Why?"'  
"I dunno." Maria admitted. "School can be fun sometimes."  
"Sometimes." Pinocchio repeated, folding his wooden arms. Maria rolled her eyes.  
"School is a basic building block for society in general." she told him. "So I suggest you stop whining so we can go to school."  
"When does it start?" Pinocchio asked.  
"Two hours ago." Maria told him, simply blinking at him. "But my mother allowed me to have a few hours off to get you ready."  
"Am I ready?" Pinocchio impatiently asked. Maria looked him over. Pinocchio was wearing a generic t-shirt with dark wash denim pants.  
"Yeah, I think so." Maria decided.

* * *

The two walked together to the school and stopped at a crosswalk. There, a man and a woman in plain clothes looked at Maria and Pinocchio. The man and woman looked at the animated puppet and discussed something among themselves.  
"Hey puppet," the man said, "Are you alive?"  
Pinocchio looked at the man.  
"Do I look like I'm alive to you?" Pinocchio asked sarcastically. The man recoiled at this statement and looked at the woman, who looked back at the man with interest.  
"Have you heard of a place called _Mangiafuoco's Theater_?" the woman then asked.  
"No, can't say I have." Pinocchio admitted. "But I've only been completely carved for a few weeks though, so it's not like I know everything to begin with."  
The man and woman looked at each other, then the man got something out of his pocket and gave it to Pinocchio. It was a flier for a show, Maria peered over Pinocchio's shoulder to read it.  
"No." she instantly told him after reading the flier for herself.  
"Why not?" the woman asked with a slight shrug of her shoulder.  
"Because Pinocchio is going to school, like he promised his father." Maria told the woman, folding her arms.  
"Oh really?" the woman asked, raising an eyebrow. "Would you like to come too?"  
"No!" Maria shouted, unintentionally. "That place is dangerous. There are kids at school who plan on going to that place, ditch school because of it, and never come back!"  
"But he isn't a real boy, is he?" the man asked, motioning toward Pinocchio. "Nothing will ever happen to him."  
"He's not going!" Maria sounded, knowing she was losing a battle that had to be won. The man stepped closer to her and attempted to hit her. Luckily, Maria jumped out of the way just in time. She gave a cold look at the man, but said nothing as the man stepped closer again.  
"D-don't hurt her." Pinocchio said, not sure what to say exactly. He had never been in this kind of situation before, and his father had instructed him to keep Maria safe. She was a family friend after all.  
The woman looked at Pinocchio and smiled at him in a creepy way.  
"Come with us and we won't hurt your sister here." she said.  
"Don't listen to them Pinocchio," Maria said, trying to watch the man in case he tried to hurt her again, "They only want you to go to that show!"  
"And I do." Pinocchio told her.  
"What?!" Maria cried in surprise.  
"I'm going to see the show." Pinocchio told her with a serious face. Maria looked at him in a moment of surprise that the man punched Maria in the face, knocking her out.  
"Then let's go then," the woman said, forcing Pinocchio away from the scene, "Since your friend is out of the way and all..."  
Grudgingly, Pinocchio followed the man and woman to the theater while Maria lay on the pavement until the bus driver came. Maria found herself at home with a ice patch on her head and a horrible headache.  
"Where's Pinocchio, Maria?" Geppetto asked fearfully.  
"Some crackhead and his girlfriend took him to Mangiafuoco's Theater." Maria said, winching at the sound of her own voice. Talking made her head hurt more. Geppetto and Teresa looked at each other and grew the same equal shade of white.  
"We have to find him." Geppetto told them.


	3. Chapter 3

Pinocchio watched in wonder as the man and woman took him to a large theater with marionette puppets strung to the entrance and decorated richly elsewhere with red and gold. A large man with a long beard and rough exterior was at the door.  
"Ah, Laron and Fariba, did you bring me a new friend?" the large man asked the man and woman who had brought Pinocchio, respectively.  
"He's a living puppet Stromboli." the man, Laron, told the large man. "No strings attached, literally!"  
The large man, Stromboli, walked close to Pinocchio and looked at him.  
"What is your name puppet?" he asked.  
"Pinocchio." the puppet answered without thinking. "Your show seemed far interesting than school, despite Maria's protests, I'd rather be here than there if you don't mind. I think I'll like this place quite well."  
Stromboli, Laron, and Fariba laughed at Pinocchio, who wondered what they were laughing at. He didn't say anything funny, did he?  
"My boy, you are going to have such a nice time at the show, you'll forget all about your Maria!" Stromboli laughed. Before Pinocchio could give a second thought, Laron and Fariba started to shove Pinocchio through the theater door and into a seat in the grand hall where the stage was. They forcefully placed him next to a boy that was extremely thin but tall. The boy glanced over at Pinocchio and had a moment of shock.  
"Are you alive?" the boy asked, taking a swing from a beer bottle that was in his hand.  
"As alive as you are." Pinocchio responded. The boy laughed.  
"That don't mean much 'round here." the boy said. "But I like ya. Here, drink some of this, it'll make you feel lighter." he added, handing Pinocchio an unopened bottle of beer. Pinocchio stared at it for a few moments, not sure what to do.  
"I'll open it for ya, don' worry." the boy said, taking the bottle back and opening it with his teeth. "There."  
Pinocchio stared at the bottle a little longer before putting it to his lips and letting the liquid run his throat. He couldn't tell if it was hot or cold, frizzy or soft. It was just... liquid.  
"How'd ya feel now?" the boy asked, smiling wide in a goofy sort of way. Pinocchio shrugged.  
"No different." he said, just now aware that he could never feel textures or temperatures until now. The boy laughed.  
"Figured ya wouldn't, but it was worth the amusement."  
A few minutes later, seconds away from the show starting, the boy stuck his hand out in front of Pinocchio and said,  
"Name's Romeo by the way, but e'ery one calls me Lampwick. Guess it's 'cuz I'm so thin and tall. I dunno, it kinda sticks."  
Pinocchio looked at Lampwick, then his hand and shook it.  
"Pinocchio."  
"Pleasure to meet ya." Lampwick agreed, turning his head to watch the show. Pinocchio nodded his head and tried to watch the show as well, but his mind was elsewhere.  
Maria. Was she alright? Should he have tried to help her? What was this feeling that made him feel he should have helped her more? She would have known if she were there. Now she's gone. Then he remembered what she had said about this place he was in. All the kids that went there never came back. If he was looking up, he could see why, but his head was down as he thought long and hard about what he could have done to help Maria more. His father had told him to watch her with his life and he had failed to do that. Failure. This set another feeling into him he didn't know. Maria would have. Maria...  
"How about you watch the show like everyone else?" someone said from behind him, grabbing his head and forcing him to watch the show. Pinocchio struggled under the person's grasp. It was Fariba, he could tell by her long cat-like fingernails as they scraped against his wooden face as he struggled. The show was confusing and nonsensical. But it was mesmerizing and erotic at the same time. Slowly, Pinocchio stopped struggling and stared at the display, he was beginning to feel light... but heavy at the same time. His eyes began to droop and the feeling spread over his body like he was slowly drowning in water. Fariba chuckled lightly as she let go of Pinocchio's head and his eyes closed completely. She gave a whistle to Laron, who was high in the upper wings, and a purple gas slowly filled the room. Pinocchio passed out as he saw the gas float to the audience and a saw the ears of the boys in front of him grow taller and furry. Little did he know, the same transformation was overcoming him too, but the play on stage didn't end. It kept the boys distracted and sleepily heavy until they passed out so they didn't notice. The last thing Pinocchio heard where evil chuckles from three different sources.

* * *

Maria stood a road away from Mangifuoco's Theater. She shivered just looking at it. Once an attraction at a cursed island that turned boys into donkeys, it somehow made an ocean wide trip to the seedy part of her hometown. It was now owned and operated by a man named Stromboli Mangifuoco, a large man with red eyes and yellowed teeth. At least, that's what people said. She also knew that in back was a market place area where bidders would buy donkeys that apparently came from inside the theater somehow. Coincidence? Not likely. This was how she planned on getting in.  
Carefully and swiftly, Maria weaved in and out of the farmers, marketers, and other business men to successfully get into the holding pens of the donkeys. She looked around for another door that would lead her to where the theater was, but looked at the donkeys. For a split second after she blinked, the donkeys all appeared to her as boys, but they quickly became donkeys again. The donkeys started to bray at her and for another split second it all sounded as one unison 'Help us!'  
"I'm sorry," Maria apologized to them as she weaved in between them now after climbing into the pen, "I'm looking for a friend."  
The donkeys then went into an uproar that Maria heard for a split second as 'I'm your friend!' or 'Take me with you!' It was sad and horrible, the things were so frightened! After awhile, Maria turned to one of them and said,  
"Well, that's what you boys get for being jackasses. Missing school and listening to strangers, didn't your mother teach you differently? Now you're never going to see her again because you were idiots!"  
Upon hearing this, some of the donkeys silenced, but it made the rest of them bray louder in protest. Maria tried to tune the greater part of the braying out as she weaved in between them to get to a door that was on the other side of the pen. Until she tripped over something.  
"Ow." Maria said as she rubbed her elbow. Behind her, one of the donkeys nudged her gently and she turned to see who it was. In a quick flash she saw a boy from her school that she mostly saw at lunch.  
"Lampwick?" she said, not sure whether to be upset, amused, scared, or a mix of the three at the sight of one of the more professional slackers at her school. The donkey let out a confident snort to show that it was him.  
"I'm not here for you, you know." Maria told him. "I'm looking for a boy-puppet named Pinocchio. Sound familiar?"  
Lampwick nodded his head, but did nothing else.  
"Where is he then? Do you know where he is now?"  
Lampwick backed up a bit, making a terrified sort of noise.  
"Is Pinocchio in trouble?" Maria asked, a chill going through her spine that told her it wasn't far from the case. Lampwick nodded his head.  
"Where is he?"  
Lampwick paused for a few moments, then motioned toward a door that wasn't too far from their position.  
"Go through that door and the first room on the right?" Maria asked to clarify. Lampwick nodded again.  
"Thank you Romeo!" Maria said gratefully, using his real name and giving him a small kiss on the forehead before leaving. Lampwick stood where he was. He was blushing at her gesture, and if he was human, you would have seen him do so in embarrassment. What he didn't realize however, was that the hair over his body was becoming human skin again...


	4. Chapter 4

"Why didn't he transform completely?" Stromboli shouted in a very angry tone. Pinocchio was in the middle of him, Laron, and Fariba as they stared at him like an animal in a petting zoo. Half donkey and half puppet, Pinocchio stood awkwardly on all fours with a wooden tail, ears, and hoofs that were once hands. He was still wooden, give or take, but his tail did have some donkey hair at the tip.  
"No one is going to buy a wooden donkey like THIS!" Stromboli thundered. "What were you two idiots thinking!"  
"We thought that since he acted like a normal boy, then he would be a jackass like the other boys!" Laron growled. "It's what YOU ordered us to do!"  
"If anything," Fariba hissed, "This shows us that living puppets can not make jackasses out of themselves from a show of puppets to begin with!"  
Stromboli laughed in a very crude way, then looked at Pinocchio.  
"What are you thinking of puppet boy? Who are you thinking of this moment that's stopping your transition?" Stromboli asked, leaning close to Pinocchio enough so he could smell the cruel man's fowl breath. As if on cue, a figure in the background tripped over something and the three villains immediately turned their heads to see what had happened. Pinocchio even craned his neck to see what had happened.  
"Maria!" he exclaimed happily, half braying, half speaking in his normal voice.  
"That's the girl that was with him when we found him." Laron told Stromboli as the villains circled her. Stromboli smiled.  
"Well hello dear," he said with a cheesy smile and a formidable bow, "What brings a lovely girl like you here?"  
"I want my brother back." Maria said, pointing at Pinocchio.  
"Oh, he's your brother?" Stromboli asked.  
"Yes. I owned him first and your goons stole him from me. So now I want him back."  
Maria and Stromboli looked each other directly in the eye for some time before Stromboli asked,  
"What are your affairs in the world? How high does your family rank in society?"  
Maria stiffened, not truly wanting to say anything to a man that is known for doing terrible things.  
"Well?" Stromboli asked, Laron and Fariba stepped closer. Not wanting to go through what happened earlier, Maria said,  
"We are very poor... sir. Our father, Geppetto, is a wood carver for a living. He fashioned a brother for me because I wanted one so badly, but our mother wasn't the same after I had been born. She can never bear a child again. Recently, after the completion of my brother, our poor father got a decent amount of sawdust into his lungs. It is so bad that he is now in the hospital. And with the news of my brother lost, it has only made his condition worse. He's not going to make it much longer."  
Pinocchio, hearing this, believed every word true and felt a horrible feeling take over him. Again, he couldn't understand it, but he knew that Maria would. Meanwhile, Stromboli thought this over, then sneezed three times. Maria jumped back to avoid being sneezed on while Laron and Fariba looked at each other nervously.  
"Go." Stromboli said, now sneezing more often. "Take him and GO!"  
Maria stood still for a few moments but Pinocchio reacted fast enough to trot over to her. With a nod, they both left the building as Stromboli sneezed faster and more often. Laron and Fariba backed away from him and looked at each other. They both knew the same thing; he felt sorry for the 'siblings.'

* * *

Several blocks away, Maria and Pinocchio stopped to catch their breath. Maria looked at Pinocchio sadly and held his head lightly. Pinocchio tried to feel how warm or cold her hands were, or even be able to tell if they were trembling, but he felt nothing. It made him feel hollow inside as he looked Maria in the eye.  
"Pinocchio," she started, "You know I didn't completely lie back there, Geppetto really is in the hospital. He really isn't... isn't going to make it."  
Maria's eyes started to water. It hurt Pinocchio to see it, but he didn't know why.  
"I'm not sure if you can understand your emotions or not, but this is serious." she said. "I can't take you to him looking like a donkey. He's going to die without us there... and... and I don't know..." Maria didn't finish, she was fully crying now. She slowly put her arms around his neck and wept. Pinocchio didn't know what to do. If anything, he wanted to comfort her. But with donkey hoofs, how was he able to? However, slowly, as her tears dripped onto him, Pinocchio realized he was able to move his fingers individually once more. Her tears were turning him back into a puppet.  
When he knew he had control of his arms and fingers as he would have normally earlier, Pinocchio gave Maria a hug back. This made Maria look at Pinocchio in surprise and found that he was once more a puppet. Quickly, she dried her tears and lead him to the hospital where Geppetto was. They were greeting by Teresa , who was nearly a hysteric mess herself. A family friend, that was nearly family himself, was dying and there was nothing anyone could do.  
Slowly, as if moving in a dream, Maria took Pinocchio's hand and led him into Geppetto's room and to his bedside. The old man smiled weakly at his son and his friend.  
"Maria..." Geppetto said softly, tears started to form in her eyes again, "I've known you since birth and you are capable of so many things. My time on Earth is almost over, but yours my dear has only just begun. I want you to make sure Pinocchio becomes a real boy."  
"But..." Maria started, but was stopped by Geppetto with a shaking hand.  
"Only you can help him Maria. Don't try to convince me otherwise." he said coughing horribly a few times. "He was made for you, he asked for you when he was first conscious, it can only be you."  
Maria nodded, but said nothing. Then Geppetto turned to Pinocchio.  
"My son," Geppetto smiled weakly, "You have filled my life with a wonder that I thought only Maria could bring, and in such a short time as well. Your story has only begun as well. Never lose Maria, not even for a second. One day, you will be a real boy like you wish. But you must first obey orders from those who care. Do you understand me?"  
"Yes Father." Pinocchio agreed solemnly. "I do."  
Geppetto smiled weakly again.  
"After I pass, Teresa has agreed to house you until the time comes when you are old enough. I want you to treat her as your mother, understand?"  
"Yes Father, "Pinocchio agreed again, "I will."  
Geppetto smiled one last time as he closed his eyes. What happened next went into a blur as the heart monitor let out one long beep to show his heart stopped. Soon after the nurses and doctor tried to unsuccessfully revive him. The entire time, Pinocchio held Maria's hand as she tried hard to comprehend what was real anymore and what wasn't. Her friend, her neighbor, her father; gone. Dead, died, gone. Never to come back. She closed her eyes and felt her knees weaken. Pinocchio, who had no idea what else to do, helped Maria keep her balance and escorted her back out to her mother. One look from mother and daughter, and they both started to cry and hugged each other for comfort. Pinocchio took his father's hand one last time as the doctors rolled the bed out, but he couldn't feel how cold it was now or how clammy it should have been. He couldn't feel anything. Puppets can't feel anything.


	5. Chapter 5

A month later, Maria looked at her reading glasses with a disgusted look.  
"Just put them on Maria." her mother said with a sigh. "It's not like they're devil spawn or anything."  
"You don't know that." Maria told her mother defiantly, but she picked the glasses up any way.  
"I think you look nice in them." Pinocchio told Maria honestly, hoping it would make her feel better. It kind of did, and it made her blush slightly.  
"I still hate them." Maria then said, putting the glasses back down. Pinocchio smiled. He still hadn't asked her the questions about what he had felt a month ago, and he wanted to do it soon. In just a few short weeks, Maria's grades dropped significantly and she would almost always be in some state of depression. Teresa and Pinocchio would go out of their way to just make her smile at least once every day now. Maria loved Geppetto more than Pinocchio realized he ever did.  
"Maria..." Pinocchio slowly said, "Can we talk together later, alone?"  
Maria looked at him curiously at the request and gave a tiny smile.  
"Sure," she agreed. "It's Saturday and there's no where else to go."  
Pinocchio nodded. He was going to tell her about these... pains inside him, whether he would be able to tell her completely or not.

* * *

They met up in Maria's room later that day. They both sat on her bed in opposite directions. Maria sat at the head of the bed, fluffing a few pillows before getting comfortable, and Pinocchio was at the foot of the bed.  
"What did you want to ask me?" Maria asked nicely, even managing a smile.  
"I wanted to ask..." he start, although not sure how to explain, "Back when I left you alone, after Laron knocked you out... later I felt... I felt like I knew I should have helped you, but I didn't... I don't know how to explain it really... it just..."  
Maria laughed, it had been the first time in weeks. Pinocchio's heart ached to hear it again.  
"Silly puppet," she said, almost happily, "You were feeling guilty; remorse even. It's perfectly normal when you have emotions. In fact, it's perfectly human!"  
"But... I'm not human..."  
"Not completely. Some day you will be though."  
"So when you came to free me from Stromboli, Laron, and Fariba?"  
"Happiness. Rejoice maybe as well, and possibly hope."  
"And when Father died?"  
Maria was silent for a few moments on that note, but she did say,  
"Sadness. Grief. Sometimes even disbelief."  
Pinocchio nodded, now understanding the concept of what emotions were better than before. But the two were silent for several minutes. Pinocchio looked at Maria's face. It was no longer happy, which he found he enjoyed most about her; her happiness. His gaze then went from her face to her hand, and he slowly took it into his.  
"Can you feel me?" he asked in a small voice. Maria curiously looked at him. Then she put her other hand on his hand as well.  
"Yes." she said.  
"What do I feel like?"  
Maria looked at him but gave an answer,  
"Rough like raw tree bark, but there are smooth parts here and there. You also feel a little cold. In humans, that's not really a good thing, but for puppets it's alright I suppose. You don't have any blood or anything."  
Pinocchio nodded, but Maria sensed something else.  
"Can you feel me?" Maria asked curiously. Pinocchio shook his head.  
"No."  
Maria scooted closer to Pinocchio so their hands rested on the bed comfortably.  
"When you are a real boy," Maria then decided out loud, "I'll let you feel my hands, and then you can decide if they are hot or cold, and smooth or rough."  
Pinocchio nodded but said nothing. A new emotion was coming over him now, something that made him feel light and bubbly, something that the beer Lampwick gave him failed to do.  
"Maria..." he started, about to describe this new feeling to her, "I feel..."  
Maria raised one of her hands to silence him, and placed a finger on his lips.  
"No more emotional stuff." she told him, a smiling inching its way onto her lips. "We've had enough for today as it is."  
Pinocchio nodded and smiled a little too as Maria put her finger back down.

* * *

"You've been really good this month Pinocchio." Teresa told the puppet at bedtime. "You may be a real boy sooner than you know it."  
Pinocchio smiled.  
"It's my most wanted wish Mrs Cherrywood." Pinocchio told her. Teresa smiled.  
"And when it comes true," she told him, lowering her voice to indicate a secret, "Make a new wish."  
"Why?" Pinocchio asked curiously.  
"Because you'll always have a little hope in your pocket if you always have a certain wish along with you." came the answer. Pinocchio thought about this as he rested his head on his pillow and drifted into sleep.  
Soon he started to dream. He envisioned himself in a glass room suspending in space with nothing to hold it. He wasn't alone in this room; there was a lady with turquoise hair with large butterfly-like wings.  
"Fairy Nilambari!" Pinocchio happily exclaimed. The lady smiled.  
"Yes Pinocchio," Fairy Nilambari said, in a voice Pinocchio found he recognized from somewhere else, "I have seen your good deeds so far, and I am proud of your progress. Geppetto is proud of you my dear."  
Pinocchio smiled proudly at the fairy and his father's approval.  
"Will I be real soon?" Pinocchio asked.  
"Yes," Fairy Nilambari told him, "And no."  
"Why?" Pinocchio asked, feeling a bit angry at her 'no.'  
"As you learn more about what you can do that makes you human, you still lack what doesn't."  
"My senses? Like touch?" Pinocchio asked, lowering his head.  
"Yes," Fairy Nilambari agreed with a sigh, "Like touch. But you have something in you now that makes you more human."  
"What's that?" Pinocchio asked.  
"Your emotions." the fairy told him. "And your ability to love and care for another."  
Pinocchio thought about this.  
"Fairy Nilambari..." Pinocchio started to say, "When I was talking with Maria about emotions, I felt... I felt a new emotion. It made me feel light and happy... I wanted to lean close to her and... and touch her nose with mine, or something like that."  
The good fairy laughed.  
"When you find out on your own, you will be a real boy."  
Pinocchio didn't like this answer.  
"What was I trying to do, when I wanted to lean over and touch her eyes with mine, or something?"  
"A kiss." Fairy Nilambari told him. "When humans express deep gratitude or longing for another, they give each other a small kiss by letting their lips touch each other for a few seconds."  
"So..." Pinocchio said, laying his thoughts out, "I wanted to kiss Maria? What emotion comes from that?"  
The good fairy only smiled and laughed in answer.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, Maria's school was taking a trip to the local aquarium to see the larger ocean life; whales, sharks, and dolphins. Oh my. Pinocchio was allowed to come as well, and was attached to Maria at the hip.  
"Toothed whales eat fish and jellyfish, which they hunt by use of echolocation." Maria read from a plague on an open exhibit where you could pet the whale if it got close enough, "Killer whales (the type of whales in this tank) eat other marine animals, including whales."  
"Yummy." a girl in Maria's class, Karen said sarcastically with a shiver. Her twin brother, Carson, and his friends laughed at her. Then the group of boys looked at Pinocchio.  
"Hey Pinocchio." Carson called to the puppet. "Come here for a moment."  
The puppet did as he was told and smiled at the boys.  
"What's up?" he asked.  
"Your nose," Carson said, "Can it grow? You know, like your namesake?"  
"I dunno." Pinocchio told him. "I've never lied before."  
"You haven't?" Carson asked in surprise. He looked at his friends, who nodded at him to give a signal of some sort. "How about you tell a little lie right now? No one would care if you do."  
Pinocchio wasn't sure and looked over at Maria, who was struggling to kept her glasses on so she could read more information on the plaque. Karen was helping her, much against Maria's margin.  
"I guess a small lie won't hurt." Pinocchio slowly admitted. Carson and his friends all exchanged a satisfied nod, and Carson turned to Pinocchio.  
"Alright so a lie works like this; you just tell the opposite of what you know the right answer is. So if you say that the sky is blue, you lie and say it's green. Got it?"  
Pinocchio thought about it, then nodded.  
"Alright." he agreed. Carson and his friends all looking at each other happily. This was going better than they expected!  
"So, Pinocchio, is the grass green?" Carson asked. Pinocchio thought about it. The grass was green, but if he was lying he would say,  
"No." Pinocchio told them. Then, his nose DID grow. Only by a fraction of an inch though, but Carson and his friends noticed it.  
"Do you have wings?" one of Carson's friends then asked.  
"Did you do your homework last night?" another one asked.  
"Where you a monkey before you were a puppet?" another asked.  
"Yes, no, yes!" Pinocchio told them, in order of their questions. His nose grew one whole inch and then some. The boys got very excited at this.  
"Do you..." Carson started to say, thinking hard, "Really like Maria?"  
Pinocchio thought about this for a moment. He turned to look at her and pointed at her.  
"That girl?" Pinocchio asked Carson, who nodded eagerly. "I hate the girl so much, I don't want to know anything about her. She's ugly and whiny. If she was mauled by a truck after I pushed her in front of it, I wouldn't feel sorry at all!"  
At this lie, Pinocchio's nose grew long enough that it pushed one of Carson's friends to his feet and kept on going. It finally stopped when it hit a stand with a shark tooth in a glass case that was over three feet away.  
"Hey!" a caretaker shouted. "Get away from that!"  
"Sorry." Pinocchio said, swinging his face toward Maria and Karen.  
"Heads up!" Karen said as Pinocchio nearly hit her. Maria wasn't so lucky and she was pushed into the open exhibit she was looking at. Pinocchio instantly reacted, along with the caretaker.  
"I didn't mean it Maria, I didn't mean what I said!" Pinocchio cried, his nose slowly shrinking as he told the truth. "I really like you! I would never hurt you intentionally! Never!"  
By the time he and the caretaker reached the open exhibit that Maria fell into, Pinocchio's nose was a little less than a foot long.  
"Help me!" Maria cried as she struggled to keep a grip on the slippery edge of the pool. The caretaker quickly assessed the situation and looked at Pinocchio.  
"Use your nose." the caretaker told him. "It's long enough, you might be able to pull her back over!"  
Pinocchio nodded and Maria eagerly grabbed his nose according to plan, but she was heavier than she looked and pulled Pinocchio into the water as well. His nose hit her in the head and she passed out, leaving her to stop struggling and start to sink into the water like a stone. Pinocchio instantly dived in after her, but trying to catch her was useless; each time he got close to her, his nose would poke her further down. He eventually stopped trying to get her, but he knew he couldn't just leave her to drown. Not again, anyway.  
Suddenly, and miraculously, one of the whales in the exhibit noticed the situation and felt touched at how the puppet was trying to rescue his friend to little prevail. The whale positioned itself so Maria was on his back and he floated back up to the surface as quickly as he could. Pinocchio watched in amazement as the whale got Maria back up to the surface and heaved her over the side of the exhibit to dry ground once again. From there, the caretaker took Maria to see if she was still breathing.  
"Thank you." Pinocchio told the whale after he had gotten out of the exhibit himself. The whale gave a reply in his whale speak. Pinocchio looked over at Maria to see if she was okay, but her eyes were closed and the caretaker was urgently talking on his phone. A horrible pain filled Pinocchio. She had drowned. She wasn't breathing and she had drowned. She was dead now, just like his father.  
Worst of all, he knew it was all his fault.


	7. Chapter 7

Pinocchio stood by Maria's hospital bed. So the doctors said that she wasn't dead. She was in a coma. But, as the doctors explained what a coma was to him and Teresa (who came to the hospital as soon as she heard), being in a coma was like almost being dead already.  
After awhile, Teresa told Pinocchio she had to leave the room and he didn't argue otherwise. It left him alone with Maria. She looked serene, as if she was blissfully ignorant of the world around her and how cared for her.  
"I'm sorry Maria." Pinocchio told her, as if she were awake. "I shouldn't have learned to lie with those boys. This would have never happened if I didn't listen to them... now you can't even listen to me, can you?"  
Pinocchio gave a tiny smile then looked down at Maria's hand. He moved his hand over it carefully.  
"I guess I'll never know what your hand feels like." he said softly. He then used his other hand to feel her forehead as well, and he brushed some of her hair away from her face. He felt the need to lean forward again, to do something to her. A kiss, was it? Isn't that what Fairy Nilambari said? How did you do it again? Lean forward and let your lips touch? Pinocchio tried this.  
Slowly, his hand started to feel Maria's hand, it was soft and barely warm. Wait... he was feeling?! Pinocchio quickly sat up again and looked at his hand. It no longer looked like wood, instead it was flesh. Flesh. Skin. He... he was human! Pinocchio stood up and looked at himself head to toe. He was human, completely and truly human!  
"Maria!" he exclaimed, going over to shake her awake as if she was just asleep like normal, "I'm human! I'm a real boy!"  
But Pinocchio didn't shake Maria long, because she started to glow in a haunting yet beautiful way. Pinocchio stood back in surprise as Maria's hair slowly morphed into a turquoise color and she fluttered her eyes open. She sat up and looked around. Her jaw dropped when she saw Pinocchio.  
"Pinocchio!" she exclaimed, "You're human!"  
"You ARE Fairy Nilambari..." Pinocchio said, entering a deeper state of shock than Maria was about him. "It's the reason why Father said only you could do it..."  
"What are you talking about?" Maria asked, having no idea what he was talking about. Pinocchio slowly walked over to her bedside, helped her get out of bed, and took her to the bathroom that was inside her hospital room. In the bathroom was a mirror, and Pinocchio positioned her in front of it before flipping on the light so Maria could see herself. For several minutes, Maria just stared at herself in the mirror in disbelief.  
"You dyed my hair." she finally said.  
"I didn't do that." Pinocchio said. "It happened the same way I am now; magic. Magic you somehow produced."  
The two went silent again.  
"I still can't bring back Geppetto." Maria finally said, looking at Pinocchio. "I tried, but he wouldn't let me."  
Pinocchio gave a tiny smile, and slowly took one of Maria's soft and delicate hands.  
"I'm sure he'd be proud right now." he told her. Maria looked up at him and smiled. Then she gave him a hug that caught him by surprise, but he did enjoy the bone-crushing hug regardless.

* * *

A few days later, Lampwick (who was no longer a donkey because of Maria) waved at Pinocchio and Maria as they walked over to him. The trio had decided to go bowling that day, and the weather was in a very agreeable mood.  
"Mornin' folks." Lampwick happily said to them when they were closer. "Fine day, isn't it?"  
"Says the horrible bowler!" Maria laughed. Her hair was still turquoise, but after the initial shock, she treated it like it was always that color.  
"Hey!" Lampwick argued. "I did a pretty decent game last time!"  
"But you still didn't beat my score, now did you?" Maria challenged.  
"I'll beat it this time!" Lampwick said. "Won't I Pinocchio?"  
Maria and Lampwick both looked at Pinocchio eagerly. Who's side was he going to take?  
"I can not tell a lie," Pinocchio then said, "But Maria is totally going to whoop Romeo out of the bowling arena today."  
"Oh sure, protect the girlfriend, not the best friend!" Lampwick said, throwing his arms in the air. "I see how it is with you!"  
Pinocchio and Maria laughed. It wasn't soon after that Lampwick joined in too. They all went into the bowling alley together and had a great time.  
And they lived happily ever after.


End file.
